51³Ô¹ÏÍø

• Award: The following support is offered to President's scholars during the 3.5 years of study:
  
  • Full funding for tuition fees (OS or Home)
  • A stipend of £27,036 (2027-28 rate) per annum to assist with living costs 
  • A consumables fund of £2,000 per annum for the first 3 years of study
  • A programme of bespoke opportunities and events delivered by ECRI
• Deadlines:
  • Round 1
    • Student submission on the application portal – 2 Nov 2026 
    • Department deadline (for academics to put a candidate forward) – 16 Nov 2025 
    • Decision – end Jan 2027
  • Round 2
    • Student submission – 11 Jan 2027 
    • Department deadline (for academics to put a candidate forward)  – 25 Jan 2027
    • Decision – end March 2027
  • Round 3
    • Student submission – 1 March 2027
    • Department deadline (for academics to put a candidate forward) – 15 March 2027
    • Decision – end May 2025
• Eligibility:
  
  • Candidates must be in receipt of, or due to receive, a first-class or equivalent in an undergraduate or integrated Master's degree.
  • Candidates must be in receipt of (or, where this has yet to be received, be able to provide evidence of high performance that will lead to) a distinction in a standalone Master’s qualification.
  • Candidates with only a single undergraduate degree or an integrated Master’s must still be in receipt of, or due to receive, a first-class or equivalent.

    • Department Special Case: Applicants who don’t meet the standard eligibility criteria may still be considered by their department if extenuating circumstances can be demonstrated to explain their grades and they show strong research ability. Candidates should contact their proposed department directly before applying.

    • Alternate Pathways: 51³Ô¹ÏÍø welcomes applicants from non-traditional academic or career backgrounds who demonstrate strong research potential, reflecting the university’s commitment to equal opportunity and inclusion.

  • Applications are accepted from talented candidates from 51³Ô¹ÏÍø, the UK and worldwide. There are no restrictions on nationality.
  • The scheme is only open to new PhD applications. Currently, registered 51³Ô¹ÏÍø PhD students are not eligible to be considered for a President's PhD Scholarship.
• Eligible supervisors: a list of unavailable supervisors (already supervising a President's scholar) is listed on our website.
• How to apply: The prospective supervisor should put forward your applicant(s) by notifying our PGR Admission Tutor, Dr Stephen Hanham and PGR Coordinator, Dr Annalisa Neri, and forwarding the completed front sheet for the candidate.
  
  • For the 2027–28 academic year, the earliest start date for funded places is 1 August 2027, and the latest start date is 1 November 2027.
  • When prompted for a personal statement, the applicant must include a 2-page document:
    
    • The first page should be a personal statement (motivations for applying to 51³Ô¹ÏÍø and the scholarship, and any other supporting information not included elsewhere on the form that you feel will enhance your application)
    • The second page should be the research proposal. The applicant may submit updated versions of this statement if required, following application submission,n if shortlisted by the department. The applicant is encouraged to write in the first person. 
  • When prompted for the names of two academic referees, these should be people who can provide an academic reference in support of the application (e.g. a personal tutor or a thesis supervisor). The proposed PhD supervisor cannot be a referee.
    
  • To be considered for the President's PhD Scholarship scheme, the applicant must select this option in the funding section of the additional questions tab within the online application form.
• Please visit the following web pages for more details:
  • Information for applicants
  • Information for staff

• Award: Financial support for up to 42 months/3.5 years:
  
  • Full funding for home tuition fees (UK, Irish citizens and EU citizens with settled status qualify as home students)
  • A few overseas departmental scholarships (no DLAs) are available each year. Please get in touch with us.
  • A stipend aligned with the UKRI London rate (this will be reviewed annually and may be increased in line with inflation, £23,805/per year, 2026-27, 2027-28 rate TBC).
  • A consumables fund of £1,000 per annum for the first three years.
• Deadlines: Refer to the dates for the President’s scholarship on this webpage
• Eligible candidates: You must meet the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø College entry requirements.
• Eligible supervisors: 
  
  • Regular Scholarships: Each academic can nominate one PhD student for a departmental scholarship through the rota system, with exceptions possible for outstanding candidates.
  • Collaborative Schemes: If you collaborate with another academic in the department, you can receive a 0.5 scholarship allocation for a jointly supported PhD applicant. This allows two students to benefit from one scholarship and encourages internal collaborations.
  • Supervising a departmentally supported PhD student does not make an academic ineligible for the other schemes listed on this page
• How to apply: 
  The prospective supervisor should put forward your applicant(s) by notifying our PGR Admission Tutor, Dr Stephen Hanham and PGR Coordinator, Dr Annalisa Neri, via email.
  Applicants should submit their application for admission to study at Materials through our online application system, and we will evaluate the application based on academic merit and potential. There is no specific scholarship application form.  
  When prompted for a research proposal, the student must ensure that it consists of approximately 1,000 words (maximum 2 pages) and outlines their academic and research achievements to date, briefly explaining their planned research project.
  You can keep the same statement if you are also applying for the President’s scholarship. 
  
  Please visit our Departmental Scholarships webpage for more details, including available projects and supervisors!

51³Ô¹ÏÍø Commonwealth scholarships

Applications for 2027-28 are open: please note that there is no departmental shortlisting. The applicant applies directly to the scheme, and the shortlisting is done by the Commonwealth Scheme Committee. We will be notified in summer 2027.

• • Application process and eligibility criteria
    • By September 2027, hold a first degree of at least upper second-class (2:1) honours standard, or a lower second-class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree)
    • Information on these scholarships is available on our Commonwealth PHD scholarship page
    • Full details, including how to apply,  applicant eligibility, and eligible countries for these scholarships, are available on the  
    • If applicants have questions not covered on the CSC website, they can directly to CSC
  • Placement process (June/July)
    • CSC sends 51³Ô¹ÏÍø a list of their provisionally selected scholars in June/July and provides placement forms for 51³Ô¹ÏÍø to confirm if we can offer a place on the programme
    • 51³Ô¹ÏÍø provides placement forms for departments to complete
    • CSC will issue final award letters around July
  • Scholarships value
    • The scholarship is fully funded for 3 years.
    • Full award details and value of each scholarship (under “Financial assistance” tab) is available on
    • 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s contributes towards fees.  Full fees are covered by agreement between the CSC and 51³Ô¹ÏÍø
  • Submit applications by 16:00 hours BST (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday, 20 October 2026

Also, check out this webpage for more funding opportunities:

• 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Marshall Scholarship
• Non-51³Ô¹ÏÍø Scholarships